


Simple Yet Undeniable

by neoladyapollonia



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Asshole Peter Hale, M/M, Mating Bites, Stiles Stilinski is a Little Shit, True Mates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-16
Updated: 2016-06-14
Packaged: 2018-05-07 02:48:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5440649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neoladyapollonia/pseuds/neoladyapollonia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter wasn't expecting to ever find his true mate. Imagine his surprise when his mate finds him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Peter Gains a Mate

**Author's Note:**

> Stiles does begin this fic as a child, but NOTHING sexual is going to happen while he is a child. Something may happen once he becomes a teen, but I haven't made a decision on that. If that happens, I will add an underage tag warning.
> 
> Much thanks to Elpie for letting me borrow her OCs and for helping with the beginning.
> 
> Beta thanks to: LadyKnightKeladry, Malaproprian, xgreenjellybeanx and probably a lot of people from the Steter chatzy. I've been working on this for a while.

The last thing Peter expected walking into the station on Saturday evening was to be shot at. Already pissed off and done with humanity before his first three cups of coffee, getting hit right between his eyes did not help matters. 

Peter growled, bending down to snatch up the rubber band with the first suggestion of claws and made a bee-line towards Carter’s desk, stopping only when he saw the crowd of deputies surrounding a young boy in his brother’s desk chair. He hadn’t even been working as a dispatcher for the Beacon County Sheriff’s Office for a month, but he was pretty sure the deputies shouldn’t be shirking work to entertain a child.

“Carter, what are you doing?” he asked, approaching the group.

“Peter! I’m just having fun with lil’ Stiles here” Carter answered with a smile. The boy’s face scrunched up in obvious displeasure at being called ‘little,’ but he didn’t argue. 

Peter rolled his eyes and attempted to walk past the crowd to get to the break room so he could put up his lunch.

“Hey, Stiles. Wanna see a trick?” Carter asked.

“Is Peter gonna help?” The boy grinned. Peter wanted to whine for mercy, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it when Carter stepped into his path. 

He plunged his fingers into Peter’s hair, fluffing it as much as possible as he pretended to dig for something. Peter closed his eyes and tried to remember that he loved the idiot and that gutting him in front of witnesses, particularly deputies, was a bad idea.

“Aha!” Carter crowed as he pulled his hands away and triumphantly showed Stiles the quarters he had discovered.

Stiles gasped, eyes wide, as he took in the coins in Carter’s palms. He turned that gaze to Peter and scrambled to climb up on the desk so he was kneeling eye-to-eye with him.

Peter pulled his head back and raised an eyebrow as the boy leaned closer, a wide, unnerving smile stretching his lips. Stiles followed Carter’s example and plunged his fingers into Peter’s already disarrayed locks.

“Stiles, what are you doing?” a woman’s voice rang out. Peter turned to see Claudia Stilinski rushing toward them. She picked Stiles up, hefting his weight with surprising strength for such a petite woman as she tugged his fingers from Peter’s hair. “I’m so sorry, Peter.”

“But, Mom!” Stiles protested before leaning in close to his mother’s ear. “His hair is full of secrets,” he attempted to whisper. Everyone in the room heard him anyway and laughed.

“It’s because he’s actually the devil,” Rita offered.

“It’s no problem, Mrs. Stilinski,” Peter responded, smiling as he stepped down hard on his sister’s foot. 

Claudia smiled. “It’s his bedtime anyway.”

Stiles groaned, flopping uselessly in his mother’s arms in an attempt to make himself dead weight. “I’m six, Mom. I don’t need a bed time.”

“Yeah. I’m not buying that, but good try, Stiles.” 

“But, Mom! I wanna stay with Peter and his magic hair,” he complained as his mom finally dropped him on the floor.

Peter chuckled and ruffled Stiles’ hair. “You can come see me again, Stiles. But you can only do that if you actually go home first.”

Stiles narrowed his eyes at him as if sensing what he was trying to do. Then a huge grin split his face, and Peter felt like he’d walked into a trap. “Okay! I’ll come see you tomorrow.”

Claudia tensed up a bit, eyes sliding suspiciously to where her son was bouncing on the soles of his feet. For a moment, Peter thought her smile might slip onto the floor. She looked from her energetic child to Peter and back two or three times before placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Sure thing, sweetie. Let’s head home for now. Give Mr. Hale time to stock up on aspirin.”

She waved at the assembled officers before turning about and leading her son to his father’s office, no doubt to say goodnight before they headed home. 

“Wow,” Rita said. “You’re super screwed.”

“What?”

Carter snickered, “Stiles was nice to you. He’s never just nice, Peter. I mean, he’s a good kid, but he’s also an asshole…. Kinda like you, actually. It’s a match made in heaven. You’re never gonna get rid of him now.”

Peter rethought the possibility of gutting him then and there. 

 

******************************************************************************

 

Peter walked into work and immediately knew something wasn’t right. It was always noisy at shift change, but the station was completely silent. He listened harder and heard more heartbeats than usual in the dispatch office. He went to the break room to put up his lunch before heading to where everyone was gathered. He paused for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on before he finally entered and then stopped as soon as he got through the door. All of the deputies and Chief Deputy Stilinski were standing along the back wall, staring at his station.

Stiles was sitting in his chair, facing the door. As soon as they locked eyes, Stiles grinned. Slowly. It was surprisingly wolf-like. Peter had never felt like prey before. He didn’t like it. He ignored everyone else in the room and walked to his station. He turned his chair around and sat down, making Stiles yelp as he suddenly had a lapful of adult and causing the room to erupt with laughter.

“Peter!” he whined as he started hitting him. “Get off! You’re heavy!”

“And you’re in my chair, Stiles. What else was I supposed to do?”

“Pick me up and move me!” was the boy’s laughed answer.

"Well, if I must,” Peter said with a put-upon sigh. He stood and reached out toward the boy. 

Stiles grabbed Peter’s left hand in both of his, halting the werewolf’s movements. He looked curiously at the large palm held in his hands for a moment before looking up at the hand’s owner. Stiles took a second or two to study Peter’s face before nodding.

Peter’s brow furrowed in confusion just before Stiles sank his teeth into Peter’s wrist.

“STILES!” John yelled as he and the other Hales in the room rushed over to them. “Jesus! We do not bite people!” He grabbed his son and pulled him away easily as Stiles released his grip on Peter. “I am so sorry, Peter. Did he draw blo--Jesus. Stiles!” He held his son over the nearest wastebasket. “Spit right now!”

While John was busy with his child, the Hales gathered around a frozen Peter. Aaron grabbed tissues and pressed them to the wound as they blocked their brother from the department’s view. “Shit,” he whispered.

“Did you guys see that?” Carter asked.

“Yes, we saw it, Carter,” Rita bit out as she moved Aaron’s hand to look at the wound. Blood was still oozing from it and it showed no signs of healing though it should have already been closing.

Carter swallowed audibly before speaking again. “That looks like a mat-”

“I know what it looks like,” Peter growled. He had felt the tell-tale zing of heat race through his body as his blood was drawn. He had heard from his parents what mating bites felt like though he had never expected to experience it. 

“Peter, calm down,” Rita said softly, grabbing the back of his neck and squeezing gently. “You can’t shift here. I know this is a big surprise, but you have got to calm down.”

“You think?” Peter snapped, glaring.

“Peter, Stiles has something he’d like to say to you.”

The Hales broke out of their huddle, Peter now holding the tissue against his wrist, to look at the Chief Deputy and the child in his arms.

Stiles’ face was wet, his expression obstinate, and he clenched his jaw, refusing to say a word.

John sighed. “Stiles, say you’re sorry,” he whispered.

“But I’m not sorry, Dad! I had to bite him!” Stiles defended angrily.

“Why did you have to bite me, Stiles?” Peter asked, the softness of his voice surprising the others.

Stiles lifted his chin and locked gazes with Peter. “Cuz you’re mine.”

Rita saw John gearing up for a scolding and quickly interrupted. “But why did you have to bite him for that, Stiles?”

The boy looked lost for a moment and shrugged. “I just did.”

“John, considering the circumstances, I think I should be allowed to go home, don’t you?” Peter asked, almost saccharine sweet.

“Absolutely,” he agreed, recognizing a potential lawsuit when he heard one. “Paid, of course.”

Peter nodded at him and took a step toward the pair when he noticed Stiles’ eyes filling with tears. He wiped the first escapee away with his thumb as he shushed the boy. “Don’t cry. I’m not angry, Stiles. I just need to go home tonight—like you do. I promise you’ll see me again very soon. Alright, sweetheart?” Stiles nodded, tears still spilling slowly down his cheeks. Peter leaned forward, gently rubbing his freshly shaven jaw against the the boy’s still wet face as he gave him a half hug. It should have been more awkward considering he was almost hugging John too, but it wasn’t. He pressed a soft kiss to the dark hair as he pulled away. “A little bite isn’t going to make me stop liking you, Stiles.” Peter bopped the upturned nose with the tip of his finger and smiled. “Not angry, sweetheart.”

Stiles sniffled a few times before nodding with a slow grin. “Okay.”

“Thank you, Peter,” John said, shifting Stiles but unable to move him to his other side due to his duty belt. “And again, I’m so sorry that he bit you.”

Peter shook his head. “I hope I won’t be, but thank you for letting me go home tonight. I need some time.”

“Least I could do.”

Peter nodded again and turned to his siblings, noticing that at some point, the unnecessary crowd in the office had dissipated, leaving only his fellow dispatchers behind. 

******************************************************************************

When he arrived at the Hale House with his siblings, Peter wasn’t surprised to see Talia on the front porch, waiting.

“I thought you had work tonight.”

“I did, but something happened,” Peter responded, not moving from beside his car.

“I figured.”

Their siblings walked past their Alpha, each accepting a brief scent marking in the form of a cheek kiss as they passed. Talia came down the steps, and Peter fell into step with her as she entered the woods. They walked for a few minutes before he spoke up.

“I have a mate.”

“You found her?” Talia asked excitedly, slipping from Alpha to sister.

“He found me.”

Talia stopped. “Please tell me he isn’t a criminal.”

“Not yet—though I’m not going to hold my breath on that.”

He extended his arm, showing her the still-healing mark. She stared.

“Peter… You kinda rushed into this, don’t you think?”

“Oh, he didn’t ask or even acknowledge the bond before biting me,” Peter informed her, delighted at her shriek of outrage.

“Peter! I can’t believe that happened! How did you let that happen?”

“He caught me off guard,” he explained. “I certainly wasn’t expecting the Chief Deputy’s six-year-old son to bite me when he asked me to pick him up.”

“Six-year-old—” She cut herself off and looked at her brother, as if gauging how serious he was. Something about his expression must have been sufficient to convince her he was telling the truth because she began laughing.

Peter frowned. “Talia, this isn’t funny.”

“No. No, it isn’t.” She gasped for breath before it turned into giggles. “It’s hilarious!”

He shoved her, and she fell to the ground with no resistance, still laughing.

“Talia!”

Her laughs tapered off as she slowly regained control. “No, I know it isn’t. If he were a wolf, I’d have to call the Alphas. But it’s a human child, and he recognized you as his mate, and you didn’t notice anything.” She started giggling again.

Peter rolled his eyes. “Yes, Talia. It’s fucking hysterical that the human child of a sheriff’s deputy with no connection to the supernatural is now mated to one of your enforcers and that, according to Pack Law, he’s ours. I suppose we should just go to his house and pick him up right now.”

Talia abruptly stopped laughing. “Oh shit.”

“But, Talia, I thought it was hilarious,” Peter responded, voice full of sugar and innocence.

“Yeah, yeah.” She stood up and looked at her brother’s wrist again. She grabbed it and gently rubbed her thumb over the mark, ignoring Peter’s minute flinch. She sighed. “You always were the difficult one. It figures your mate would be just like you… You’re sure?”

“Yes. It’s not healing the way it should, and I felt it, what mom always talked about.”

She nodded. She knew what he meant. “Alright. Let’s go figure out what we’re going to do about this.” She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and ushered him back toward the house.


	2. The Stilinskis Are Informed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Stilinskis are let in on a secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic has gotten an amazing response and I completely did not expect that. Thank you so much to everyone who read, gave kudos, and commented! I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. It's been gone over so many times by a few people: Malaproprian for main beta this time, LadyKnightKeladry for secondary beta, and then Celty for flow after all changes were made. Other people in the chatzy also read it over. Thank you to each and every one of you. I appreciate this so much.

John groaned when the phone rang. He had just told Claudia about their son attacking Peter, and he did not want to deal with whoever was on the phone. He couldn’t hear his wife scolding but knew that made it worse. He and Stiles were very similar in that they would rather Claudia yell than be quiet when they were in trouble. He sighed and answered the phone. “Stilinski residence.”

“Hello, Mr. Stilinski. This is Peter Hale.”

John swore under his breath. “Peter, I’m surprised to hear from you this evening. How’s the wrist?”

“I was wondering if you and your wife would be available for a meeting tomorrow with my lawyer and me,” Peter replied, ignoring the question about his injury.

John scowled. “Now, Peter, I’m not sure this situation calls for a lawyer.”

“I believe that’s up to me, don’t you, Chief Deputy?”

John took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’re absolutely right. However, I was hoping this wasn’t something you’d bring to court.”

“Is a meeting tomorrow at your house agreeable?”

“You don’t want to meet at your lawyer’s office?”

“Did you want to meet at my lawyer’s office?” Peter’s emphasis managed to imply John would be making a stupid decision to say he did.

“No. No, our house is fine. Meeting at my house is perfectly fine.”

“Perhaps at ten for brunch?”

John gritted his teeth. This bastard was really pushing it, assuming they’d want to feed the man who was about to sue them. Granted, he would be well within his rights to do so—Stiles shouldn’t have been in the dispatch office at all regardless of his age and relation to him. John could easily get fired for this, and then what would they do? Claudia made good money, but a family couldn’t survive on one income in California, forget the lawsuit.

“Sounds great,” John forced out.

“Wonderful! We’ll see you tomorrow morning, John.” And with that, Peter hung up.

John slammed the phone down. “Fuck!”

******************************************************************************

John woke up the next morning to find the other side of the bed empty and cold. He let his head flop back down on his pillow. Dinner last night had been unbearable. Claudia hadn’t said a word the entire meal. She hadn’t even corrected Stiles when he put his elbows on the table. Stiles had been on the verge of tears the whole dinner, and John had been right there with him. He should have waited until after dinner to tell her about the meeting with Peter’s lawyer, but he had been so angry that he’d blurted it out as soon as his wife and son had come down the stairs. He rubbed his hand over his face. He really shouldn’t have said anything in front of Stiles.

He rolled himself out of bed and slunk into the kitchen where he could smell coffee. His wife was hard at work at the stove, cooking a plethora of foods he’d never seen her make before. He reached for a muffin and got his hand slapped by a still hot metal spatula. “Ow!”

Claudia turned a fierce glare on him. “You know better. Go shower and get dressed appropriately, then get Stiles ready.”

“What do you mean ‘appropriately’?” he asked as he reached for a coffee mug.

“I don’t know, John. What kind of attire do you think is appropriate for meeting with a lawyer?” she snapped as she pulled the still empty mug out of his hands and set it back down before returning her attention to the stove.

Oh yeah. She was pissed.

******************************************************************************

Their doorbell rang at fifteen minutes to ten, and John rushed to answer it. Melissa was supposed to be picking Stiles up, so he wouldn’t be there for the meeting. “Stiles, come on!” he shouted. “Melissa’s here to get you!” He pulled the door open, thanks on his lips when he caught sight of who was there. “Peter, you’re early.”

“I apologize for that. We overestimated how long it would take to get here.”

Stiles came up just then and shrieked when he saw who was at the door. “Peter!” He ran to the other man, and to John’s surprise, Peter picked him up with a smile.

“Hello, darling.” He hugged the boy and kissed the top of his head. “How are you this morning?”

“John, can we come in?” John’s attention was drawn to the woman standing behind Peter.

“Talia, I’m sorry. Of course.” He stepped back, watching in confusion as Peter carried Stiles inside, listening attentively to everything his son was saying.

“You can cancel Melissa, John,” Talia told him as she entered the house. “Stiles should be here for this.”

John frowned. “I really don’t think he should.”

“Trust me on this.” 

A few minutes later, they were all seated around the dining room table with an assortment of food between them.

“I must say, Claudia, this looks incredible,” Peter told her as he began piling his plate with frittata, muffins, and bacon.

“Thank you, Peter,” Claudia said with a huge and genuine-looking smile on her face. Sometimes his wife’s ability to act legitimately scared him.

John kept an eye on the strange interaction between his son and Peter as brunch went on. His son seemed much happier than usual sitting next to the man. Any time his son went to get Peter’s attention, he touched the bandage on the man’s wrist. Peter never so much as flinched, instead stopping whatever he was doing to listen to Stiles. And it didn’t seem fake or put-upon at all.

As soon as they were done with brunch, Peter managed to convince Stiles to help John pick up the dishes while the rest of the adults went to the living room. When John and his son finally joined them, Stiles ran straight to Peter and jumped up next to him. 

Talia didn’t waste any time getting down to business. She pulled out her briefcase and took out two sheafs of paper and two pens. “Before we get started, I’ll need you to sign these,” she said as she handed them to John and Claudia. “They’re your standard non-disclosure agreements, but feel free to read them over. Take your time.”

Claudia frowned. “Why do we need NDAs?” John let her control this conversation as she had more legal experience than him, being a clerk of court. 

“Sign them and you’ll find out,” Peter said with a grin. 

John scowled and waited for his wife to look over the two agreements. A few minutes later, she nodded, signing hers and handing John’s back to him. He signed reluctantly, and Talia took both copies, looking them over quickly.

She put them back in her briefcase and put it away. “First, I’m going to remind you that the Hale family helped found this town, and we’ve never had any issues.” John and Claudia both frowned in confusion. Stiles just rested his head against Peter’s side as Peter kept his hand on the boy’s head. Stiles usually hated when people did that. John turned his attention back to the elder Hale.

“You need to understand that we don’t just tell people what you’re about to learn. It’s a closely guarded secret.”

“Yeah, We got that from the NDAs,” John muttered. Claudia elbowed him, and he shut up.

Talia smiled. “Well, this going to be hard to believe for a bit, but our family has been this way for a long time. It goes back to our earliest family stories from centuries ago.”

“We’re werewolves,” Peter interrupted.

“Peter! That is not how we do this!” Talia scolded at the same time that Stiles interjected, rolling his eyes.

“No, you’re not. Werewolves aren’t real.”

“You’re stalling, Tal. You know how much I hate that. And be honest, you just wanted to show off, which I personally think would have been more shocking.” He looked down at the boy by his side. “But we are real,” he said with a grin and this time, it was decidedly toothier, fangs evident. His eyes flashed a brilliant blue, and the hand in his lap suddenly had what could only be described as claws, though the hand on Stiles’ head remained normal.

“No way!” He reached toward Peter’s teeth as if to check if they were fake, but Peter gently grabbed Stiles’ hand with his clawed one, though the claws disappeared almost immediately.

“No, no. They’re very sharp. I wouldn’t want you to cut yourself on them. Just watch my teeth.” He kept his mouth open so Stiles could see his fangs turn back into human-looking teeth. 

John felt his heart begin to pound, eyes trained on the predator touching his son. He barely heard Claudia’s gasp over the buzzing in his ears.

“Dammit, Peter. Now look what you’ve done,” Talia snapped as she stood and walked over to the loveseat. She grabbed their arms, and suddenly John’s panic started to recede. He looked at her still human hand on his forearm and gulped at the black veins he could see going up her arms. “Don’t worry,” she said in a soothing voice. “I’m just helping you control your panic since my brother is an asshole.”

“Language, Talia,” Peter sing-songed, flashing his eyes for Stiles and making him bounce with glee. “There is a child present.”

“What’s important here is what happened yesterday,” Talia said, ignoring Peter. She turned her attention to Claudia and spoke before John could sputter out a protest. “Did John tell you exactly what happened yesterday?”

“He told me Stiles had bitten Peter on the wrist hard enough to make him bleed and that he’d refused to apologize,” Claudia answered, seeming much calmer than her husband.

“Did he tell you why Stiles said he wouldn’t apologize?”

“No, though Stiles did when I asked him about it. He said that Peter was his, and he had to bite him so everyone would know.”

“Okay.” Talia resumed her seat, running a hand through her hair. “This is going to sound incredibly weird, but bear with me.”

“More weird than werewolves existing?” Claudia asked with a small smile. John turned an incredulous look at his wife. She didn’t notice.

Talia laughed. “A bit. You know how humans talk about soul mates? Well, we werewolves have a similar concept called ‘true mates.’ It isn’t all that common for werewolves and their mates to actually find each other, though that number has been increasing in recent years. Usually, there’s a long courtship involved, but at the end of it, the mates bite each other to cement the bond.”

“Wait, are you saying that’s what happened yesterday?” John asked, incredulous.

“I don’t know if I could call meeting him for two minutes the day before a long courtship, but yes,” Peter answered, distracted. Stiles had moved on to pushing Peter’s nose like a button to make his eyes flash. The boy giggled each time.

“This is actually an incredibly unorthodox situation. Usually the wolf senses their mate first, and while their mate will be drawn to them, they won’t recognize the bond for what it is. I actually can’t recall a single time this has ever happened before.”

“I told you already, I didn’t think my mate would be a tiny human and that he’d just bite me!”

“Okay. Explain more about what exactly that all means,” John ordered.

“Werewolves have the ability to recognize their soul mates and vice versa. It is widely accepted that this is because of the latent magic werewolves possess which makes the bond stronger. Werewolves likely recognize the bond first because of this,” Talia explained. 

“Talia, you sound like a textbook,” Peter drawled, nails drumming on his leg in agitation.

“I suppose you think you could do better?” He opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off. “No, you’re not allowed to try.” She turned her attention back to the Stilinskis. “As far as I know, Stiles is the first human to recognize the bond for what it is. I suspect it's because he's so young since children are more likely to notice magic, though it's also possible there's some magic in his ancestry and that’s why he recognized it.”

“My grandmother once told me her mother was a witch,” Claudia offered. “My mom convinced me she was talking about her personality, but now that I think about it, Gran said it like it was a secret and never spoke ill of her.”

“Just tell me what this means for our son,” John interrupted.

“Your son basically werewolf-married me, though married isn’t quite right because married people can get divorced. We will never be able to develop feelings for anyone else,” Peter answered.

“Good,” Stiles stated, wrapping his arms around Peter’s waist. “Hey, if we’re werewolf-married, can I still marry you like dad did with mom?”

“I’m afraid that’s not legal yet, but it might be by the time you’re eighteen.” Stiles started to pout, but Peter stopped him. “We’re still werewolf-married though.” He shrugged and seemed to accept that as an answer.

“The bond just cements the connection that’s already there. There is no breaking it. They’ll always be drawn to each other and want to spend time together. Peter will be able to sense Stiles’ moods and once Peter returns the bite, Stiles will be able to sense his.” 

“And when will that happen?” John asked. 

“Not until Stiles is ready,” Peter answered. “He didn’t really know what he was doing. He was just following his instincts. I know more about this and I’m not going to do anything until he is ready. Right now I feel affection for him and protective of him similar to my feelings for my nieces and nephews. As he grows and changes, so will my feelings.”

John stared at Peter for a minute before closing his eyes and nodding. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Peter and Talia chorused.

“Okay. I’m pretty good at telling when people are lying and I don’t think you are. You genuinely care for him and you can protect him, maybe even better than I can. He seems to really like you, and he can actually hold still for five minutes when you’re around. We’ll see how this goes, especially since me saying no wouldn’t stop you from being around him, would it?”

Peter smiled softly down at the boy leaning against him. “You’re not wrong.”

“Supervised visits for now?” Claudia suggested, looking to John for his opinion, getting a nod in return.

“That seems more than fair,” Peter replied.

“I must say, you’re taking this very well,” Talia said, directing her attention to Claudia.

She shrugged. “I’m sure I’ll freak out later, but right now, I’m just glad your looks are supernatural. Makes me less insecure.”

Peter laughed and lifted his head to look at her. “I think I really like you, Claudia. I’m glad I won’t have an evil mother-in-law. I’ve always worried about that. Can I call you mom?”

“Not on your life,” was her grinned answer.

Peter nodded. “I definitely like you.”

Stiles grinned. “Of course you like her, she’s the best mom ever.”


	3. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The families are officially introduced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a fast writer. I don't really do outlines either because they never stay that way.
> 
> I'm not satisfied with this chapter, but with how insane my life has been, I figured I should go ahead.
> 
> If you read the author's notes and comments in my other fics, you'll know things have been stressful. Brief recap: no computer, tiny Bluetooth tablet keyboard, helping with a friend's restaurant in addition to my full time job, helping his wife by taking some of their 8 kids sometimes, helping sister take care of our cousins cuz their parents have gone off the deep end. I can add a few more after this hellish beginning of a week. Grandma has pneumonia, was in the hospital, and signed a DNR. She came home today, but she's been sick on and off for the past couple of months. Best friend/sister was in such severe back pain yesterday that she was screaming before passing out and losing all color at my house. We called an ambulance, sat in the er for less than 30 minutes before a doctor listened to her heartbeat, prescribed her muscle relaxers, and sent her home. She couldn't walk unassisted. My dog has been having increasingly frequent Alzheimer's episodes where she can't find her way to her puppy pads and just goes to the bathroom where she's standing after walking in circles and walking into walls. We've been talking about putting her down and it rips my heart out. I've also been trying to get my finances in order and how much money I owe people makes me ill. A family member recently died of cancer and another one is in hospice. I've been going on job interviews and keep getting rejected. I've been trying to keep my mom from breaking as well. 
> 
> I normally love driving my friends places and running errands, but I feel like Bilbo around his 111th birthday party. I'm frayed and I don't know how much more I can handle. I took the day off work tomorrow and I'm gonna go hide somewhere. I haven't gotten to leave after half a shift for the past 3 short days and my supervisor is on vacation for three weeks and then another person on my shift is getting married and going on a honeymoon right after that, so I can't take a vacation for another month or so. I'm using a sick day even though we're short handed because I will break if something stressful happens at work tomorrow and my job is to not break in an emergency.
> 
> I haven't given up on any of my fics, I'm just exhausted. I have a few things I've been slowly cleaning up in case of times like these, so I will still be posting things. Thank you all for your patience, understanding, & support.

John sat at the table, sipping a glass of whiskey. Werewolves were real. His six year-old son had basically married himself to one. He ran his hand over his face before leaning his elbows on the wood and resting his head on his hands. How was this his life?

He felt a hand run over his head before moving down to his shoulders. “Crazy day,” Claudia said as she began to knead the tight muscles under her fingers.

John groaned and sat up, leaning his head back against her breasts. “I feel like that’s an understatement.”

She laughed, making his head bounce a bit. She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and kissed his forehead. “Only our son could accidentally marry a werewolf. I think he gets it from your side of the family.”

“Ha! My side? Your side apparently has witches. He gets it from you,” John countered.

“Point,” she ceded, poking his nose. She moved around to sit in his lap, keeping her arms around his neck. He wrapped his around her waist and kissed her temple. “Let’s look at the bright side,” she said, leaning against him. “He’s got a super strong, super fast, supernatural creature dedicated to his well-being. And Stiles adores him and listens to him. Stiles is a little calmer around him, and he went straight to bed, no arguments when Peter suggested he should.”

“You know, it kind of irks me that our son listens to him better than he does to us.”

“He’s infatuated right now. And remember Talia told us that since Stiles initiated the bond, he’s the dominant personality in their relationship,” Claudia reminded him. “Peter’s going to need all the help he can get once Stiles figures that out.”

“I’m still having a hard time dealing with the fact that werewolves exist, that I’ve got them on the force, which is a good thing I guess, and that my son….” He sighed. “I can accept this. I just need to process it. Peter’s a pretty good guy from what I’ve seen. The Hales are a good family. This is just weird.”

“It is. Now come on.” Claudia stood and pulled on his hands. “Let’s go to bed. I bet I can make you forget all about this,” she said with a smirk. 

John’s eyebrows went up and he grinned. “Well, if you insist.”

******************************************************************************

That Saturday, the Stilinskis pulled up to the Hale house. Stiles was unbuckled and halfway out of the backseat by the time John put the car in park.

“Stiles! How many times have I—” The door slamming shut cut off Claudia’s scolding.

Peter was suddenly by the car, catching Stiles in his arms and swinging him around. He set him against his hip and waved to John and Claudia, beckoning them inside.

“Well, this is a great start to meeting the family,” John muttered under his breath.

“John, you already know most of the family,” Claudia pointed out. “It’ll be fine. Just relax.” 

He took a deep breath.

“Besides, canines can smell fear.”

He choked and turned toward her, but she was already getting out of the car, laughing as she shut the door with her hip, hands full of casserole dish.

“I heard that,” Peter said, holding the front door open for Claudia.

“Hey, I didn’t call you a dog. I said canine,” she defended. 

“Fair enough.”

“Claudia! So glad you could make it,” Talia greeted as she came in the room. “Let’s just bring this outside with the rest of the food and Peter will show John the way when he gets inside.”

“Of course,” Peter responded with a fang-filled grin. Stiles giggled.

Talia rolled her eyes, taking the casserole dish in one hand and putting the other arm around Claudia’s shoulders.

*********************************************************************************

After everyone had gathered in the backyard, Talia began the introductions, pointing to each of them as she went around.

“Stilinskis, this is the Hale pack: my mate and husband Marcus,” she pointed at a large, well-muscled man with dark, slightly curly hair and trimmed beard to match. “My daughters Laura and Cora.” A teen with long, light brown hair waved merrily while a dark-haired girl about the same size as Stiles peeked around her sister’s legs shyly. “My sons Derek and Eric.” A preteen boy with black hair grinned and jerked his head up in greeting while a boy a few years younger with lighter hair looked up from his book to nod. “And I believe you know my sister Rita and brothers Aaron and Carter.” The three officers waved from their spots.

“Hey, boss!” Aaron hollered.

John nodded at him before Talia introduced them in return. “Hales, these are the Stilinskis: John, Claudia, and Stiles. They are new to the werewolf thing, so be nice.” She shot a look at Derek, and her eyes flashed scarlet. She got murmured agreements in return.

Marcus was the first to go over to the family. “Nice to meet you,” he rumbled, his deep voice matching his looks perfectly. “Wanna help me with the grill?”

John's relief at the prospect of familiar territory was palpable. He eagerly accepted, abandoning Claudia to Talia and Stiles to Peter, neither of whom minded their fate.

It wasn’t long before both families were at ease with each other. Laura was quick to play with Stiles, and with her came Cora, though it took her a little longer to warm up to the boy. One look at Eric’s X-Men shirt was enough to guarantee his place in Stiles’ heart, and everyone was surprised to see how much Eric liked him in return. Derek was more content to play basketball with his aunt and uncles, but he definitely didn’t have a problem with the kid that was willing to bite a werewolf.

By the time the sun was setting, the Stilinskis smelled of pack, and the Hales were happy with the new addition to their family. Peter carried a sleeping Stiles back to the car as Cora excitedly talked about her favorite football team with John and Rita. Claudia wasn’t far behind, discussing books with Eric. They made plans to get together next month, and so a new tradition was born.


End file.
